In the production of hydrocarbon fluids from subterranean wells, it is common to be required to handle various fluid mixtures comprising crude oil, water and/or gas. For various reasons, it is important to determine and/or control the flow rate of the fluid from the well which delivers its production into a common manifold or flowline. For example, during circulation of drilling fluid during drilling operations, it is critical to determine and control circulation pressure to prevent various safety-related reasons.
Various systems exist in which to determine the flow rate of downhole fluids. However, conventional approaches oftentimes employ costly and bulky equipment which is expensive and consumes a great deal of space. Additionally, since the drilling fluid contains solid rock pieces and other drill cutting, it is highly viscous and, in turn, leads to erosion of downhole measurement device which are expensive and time-consuming, to replace. Moreover, since drilling fluid is often opaque, the techniques used to determine the flow rates are often overly complicated and require even more costly computing equipment and detection mechanisms.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need in the art for a non-contact and cost-effective approaches to measuring the flow rate of fluids in downhole and other environments.